Engineers and Phd's help, How does this rabbit corkscrew thing work?

scottmandue · 07:08 AM

Enough of this frivolous talk of love, marriage, God, war, and mens dangley bits!

And now a question of great import!
Being a wine geek I couldn't resist buying one of those rabbit de-corking gadgets when I found they made a model that was partially plastic for $29 (as compared to the $99 all stainless steel model)

The mystery is the the screw itself seems to spin freely (in both directions) which makes sense when you drive the screw down into the cork however why doesn't the screw spin out when you pull the lever up. Actually if I don't clamp the handles around the top of the bottle correctly the screw will spin out when trying to remove the cork.

The silly thing didn't come with any instructions but once I developed a technique it does work well.

Any ideas?

This is not the exact model but it is very similar (if you never seen one):
http://www.franmara.com/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Detail&ID=27

stevepaa · 07-28-2005, 07:35 AM

I suspect when you pull up there is a pin which moves to stop rotation of the screw. I have one of these and never use it.

If you have aged wine you should not use any screw type cork remover. Use the two prong slider/turner cork remover.

vash · vash's Garage

buy another one and take it apart

scottmandue · 07-28-2005, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by stevepaa
I suspect when you pull up there is a pin which moves to stop rotation of the screw. I have one of these and never use it.

If you have aged wine you should not use any screw type cork remover. Use the two prong slider/turner cork remover.

I had previously used the two prong device on all my wine and still have them...
In a weak moment of testosterone fueled gadget-itis I bought this thing. It does work well.

stevepaa · 08:59 AM

Yeah, I got mine as a gift. I'll use it for two buck chuck (sp?).

I take my two prong opener with me to restaurants when I bring my own bottles. And I open the bottles myself. I got tired of the delay and decanting when the screw type destroy the corks.

island911 · 07-28-2005, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by scottmandue
...
The mystery is the the screw itself seems to spin freely (in both directions) ..]

friction, grasshopper . .. you must consider the friction.

rob macdonald · 07-28-2005, 09:49 AM

I bought one as a gift...I've used it successfully twice, and skewered myself twice...it's a nice knick-knack, and obviously I haven't a clue as to how it works.

cbeers · 07-28-2005, 10:11 AM

Rabbit openers are great, but really only if you are opening a lot of bottles at once. I have one in SS and rarely use it. It's sweet for an event.

Day to day, I still use my manual one with blade, cork screw all in one. Takes 5 seconds to open.

I only need the two prong slider ones for REALLY old bottles or poorly kept bottles.

A 1992 Joseph Phelps Merlot we opened the other night had a cork that looked 2 years young!

-Chris

vash · vash's Garage

i was told the two prong thing is called and "aah-so". (in napa, where the pro's hang out).

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by vash
i was told the two prong thing is called and "aah-so". (in napa, where the pro's hang out).

Or "The Butler's Friend"

jyl · jyl's Garage

The Rabbit, which is a knock off of the original "Screwpull", is a interesting device. Here's how it works.

The two handles, that you squeeze around the neck of the bottle, each pivot on a hinge. The hinge is springloaded so that the top of it can pivot outward. When you close the handles without a bottle in the way, there is no force causing that pivot motion. When you close the handles around a bottle, the neck of the bottle acts as a fulcrum and the handle generates a levering force which forces the hinge to pivot outward.

The corkscrew rotates in an upper mount, and the mount moves up and down as you move the central pulling lever. The corkscrew also passes through a lower block, which contains a corkscrew-shaped channel. If the lower block is stationary while you move the pulling lever, then the corkscrew rotates as it is pushed down or lifted up through the block. If the lower block is moving with the upper mount, then the corkscrew moves up and down but cannot rotate.

When the handle hinge pivots outwards, this releases a pin. The released pin releases the lower block, so that it can freely move up and down. If the pin is not released, the lower block is locked in position and cannot move.

When the lower block is free to move, and you raise the upper mount by moving the pulling lever, the lower block wants to move with the upper mount. This is due to the angle of the corkscrew-shaped channel - it is easier for the lower block to be pulled up with the upper mount than for the lower block to stay in place with the corkscrew being pulled through and thus rotating in the channel. When the lower block is locked in place, the corkscrew is pulled through the block and thus rotates.

All this comes together as so: The device starts out with the lower block locked. You raise the pulling lever and the corkscrew is pulled up through the block, rotating as it is lifted. Then you close the handles around the bottle's neck. You lower the pulling handle. The corkscrew is pushed down through the lower block, rotating as it is lowered, and thus screws its way into the cork. Now you clamp the handles harder around the bottle neck. The pins are released, and the lower block is free to move. You raise the pulling handle, and the upper mount is lifted. The lower block moves with the upper mount. So the corkscrew is raised, but does not rotate. This extracts the cork. You remove the bottle, and lower the pulling handle. Then you raise the pulling handle. This time there is no bottle being gripped, so the pins are not released, the lower block does not move, and the corkscrew rotates as it is lifted. This unscrews the corkscrew from the cork.

I learned this one evening with my dad, my uncle, and one of their school chums. Around the table there was one math PhD, one electrical engineering PhD, and a physics MA, plus me, the lowly math BA (the JD and MBA don't count for anything in my family, as they aren't hard science degrees - everyone feels sorry that I never got any real education). The grayhairs were fascinated by this devices and kept trying to figure out how it worked. This required opening bottle after bottle of wine. My uncle kept drifting off, then reawaking to resume his investigation. I think we opened 5 or 6 bottles, which were mostly consumed. Eventually we figured it out. Okay, maybe it's not that hard to figure out, but drunk and by candlelight?

The original Screwpull is, I think, better quality than the Rabbit. I suspect the Rabbit is a Asian knock-off, but I'm not sure about that. Screwpulls come, or came, with a 10 year warranty. We got ours as a wedding present. After 11 years, ours broke. They replaced it with a brand new one. Good company. We've bought several more as gifts for people.

P.S.

I take back what I said about the Rabbit being an "Asian" knockoff, it appears to be made by a company called Metrokane http://www.metrokane.com/site_files/about_us.aspx which doesn't seem to be a Chinese company (although the Rabbit could be manufactured in Asia, see http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/10967130/Winer_Opener.html ). They do, however, have a habit of ripping off others' designs - before the Rabbit, they sold a corkscrew called "the Faucet" which was a rip-off of another patented Le Creuset corkscrew. Kind of funny, seeing as how the Metrokane website brags about the founder's fight against companies that ripped off her orange juice machine. http://www.fortune.com/fortune/print/0,15935,361197,00.html

The Rabbit is, however, just a knock-off Screwpull with fancy side plates that cover up the pin (and make it hard to figure out how the thing works). The Screwpull was invented in 1979 by an American named Herbert Allen, and is sold today by the Screwpull company which is part of Le Creuset, the French cookware company. http://www.lecreuset.com/usa/content.php?name=About_Us I don't know where the Screwpull is manufactured, mine doesn't have any "made in" marking. I'm going to guess in the USA or Europe.

The Screwpull patent expired in 1999 and then the knock-offs came on, including the Rabbit. http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2001-11-15/goods_thegoods.html http://www.aaa-calif.com/westways/1100/winecellar.asp Apparently the original Screwpull patent(s) were not only on the mechanism, but also on some low-friction coating on the corkscrew. http://www.corkscrewnet.com/EllisCsinCourt.htm

Personally I like having a Screwpull instead of a Rabbit, because I notice that the new plastic and plastic-y corks are a bit tough on the mechanism (more friction on the corkscrew) and if I break the thing, I'm going to like that 10 year warranty. Plus I don't much like rip-off specialists.

For all you ever wanted to know about corkscrews http://www.corkscrewnet.com/ParadiLeverPulls.htm

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

D@MN.

Those are more expensive than the Rabbit.

http://www.wineenthusiast.com/shopping/prod_detail/main.asp?cat=CS&sl=0&catid=64&productID=7865&uid=A690D9BE-A4DF-4749-A8B7-360D1A5A459C

And I have "Rabbit" knock-offs that are Under $20. I have 3 of them....